RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/C/M/100 
12 November 2009 
 (09-5627) 
Council for Trade in Goods  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS 
30 OCTOBER 2009 
 
Chairperson: H.E. Ambassador Elin Østebø Johansen (Norway)
 
 
 
 The meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods was convened by airgram WTO/AIR/3462 and the proposed agenda for the meeting was c ontained in document G/C/W/629.  The meeting 
proceeded on the basis of the following agenda.  
I.
 NOTIFICATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS.............................................2  
II. MARKET ACCESS MATTERS .............................................................................................2  
A. COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS – PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ............................2  
B. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002  CHANGES INTO WTO  SCHEDULES OF 
TARIFF CONCESSIONS – REQUESTS FOR EXTENSION OF THE WAIVER .......................................2  
C. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007  CHANGES INTO WTO  SCHEDULES OF 
TARIFF CONCESSIONS – REQUESTS FOR A WAIVER ....................................................................3  
III. ISSUES RELATED TO TRADE IN TEXTILES ..................................................................3  
IV. EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ENLARG EMENT:  PROCEDURES UNDER 
ARTICLE XXVIII:3 OF GATT 1994.....................................................................................4  
A. ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON 1 MAY 2004 ..........................................4  
B. ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON 1 JANUARY 2007...................................5  
V. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA........................................6
 
VI. CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS.........................................................................10
 
VII. ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE 
IN GOODS TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL......................................................................10  
VIII.  OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................1 1 
A. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING ...................................................................................................11  
 
 
 
  G/C/M/100 
Page 2  
 
  I. NOTIFICATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS 
1.1 The Chairman
 recalled that, under the working procedures agreed by the Committee on 
Regional Trade Agreements following adoption by  the General Council of the Transparency 
Mechanism, the Council for Trade in Goods was to be  kept informed of Members' notifications of 
new regional trade agreements.  She informed the CTG that the following regional trade agreements 
had been notified to the RTA Committee: 
 A. Free Trade Agreement between Nicaragua a nd Chinese Taipei in document WT/REG267/N/1 
 B. Free Trade Agreement between Panama a nd Chinese Taipei in document WT/REG268/N/1 
 
C. Free Trade Agreement between Peru and Singapore in document WT/REG269/N/1  D. Free Trade Agreement between Canada  and Peru in document WT/REG270/N/1 
 
E. Free Trade Agreement between Cana da and EFTA in document WT/REG271/N/1 
 F. Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Colombia in document WT/REG272/N/1 
 
G. Free Trade Agreement between Japan and Switzerland in document WT/REG273/N/1 
 
H. Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Communities and Cameroon in 
document WT/REG274/N/1 
 I. Economic Partnership Agreement betw een Japan and Viet Nam in document 
WT/REG275/N/1 
 
J. Gulf Cooperation Council in document WT/REG276/N/1. 
1.2 The Council took note
 of the information presented. 
 
II. MARKET ACCESS MATTERS 
2.1 The Chairman  noted that the Market Access Comm ittee had forwarded three items for 
consideration to the Council for Trade in Goods.    A. C
OMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS – PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE  
2.2 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the peri odic report of the Committee on Market 
Access contained in document G/MA/240.  The repor t was factual in nature, and reflected the work 
undertaken in the Market Access Committee.    2.3 The Council took note
 of the periodic report.   
 B. I
NTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002  CHANGES INTO WTO  SCHEDULES OF TARIFF 
CONCESSIONS – REQUESTS FOR EXTENSION OF THE WAIVER  
2.4 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the draft waiver decision circulated in document 
G/C/W/624, which had been made in connection with the introduction of HS2002 changes into WTO schedules of tariff concessions.  The current waiv er decision was contained in document WT/L/744 
and was to expire on 31 December 2009.  The one year  extension of the waiver decision had been the 
subject of consultations in the Market Access Committee where it was considered at the formal  G/C/M/100 
 Page 3 
 
 
  meeting that took place on 2 October 2009.  It had been forwarded by that Committee to the CTG for 
action.  She proposed that the Council approves the draft waiver decision contained in G/C/W/624 and forward it to the General Council for adoption.  2.5 The Council approved
 the draft waiver decision contained in G/C/W/624 and agreed  to 
forward it to the General council for adoption. 
 C. I
NTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007  CHANGES INTO WTO  SCHEDULES OF TARIFF 
CONCESSIONS – REQUESTS FOR A WAIVER  
2.6 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the draft waiver decision circulated in document 
G/C/W/625, which had been made in connection with the introduction of HS2007 changes into WTO 
schedules of tariff concessions.  The current waiv er decision was contained in document WT/L/745 
and would expire on 31 December 2008.  The one year extension of the waiver decision was 
considered at the formal meeting that took place on 2 October 2009 and had been forwarded by that 
Committee to the CTG for action.  She proposed that  the Council approves the draft waiver decision 
contained in G/C/W/625 and forward it to the General Council for adoption. 
 2.7 The representative of China
 informed the Council that China had implemented HS2007 
changes since 1 January 2007 and requested to be covered by the waiver contained in this draft 
decision.  
2.8 The Council took note of the statement and agreed that the Secretariat would circulate a 
revised draft to include China in the Annex.  It otherwise approved
 the draft waiver decision 
contained in G/C/W/625 and agreed  to forward the revised version it to the General Council for 
adoption.   III. ISSUES RELATED TO TRADE IN TEXTILES  
3.1 The Chairman
 recalled that, at the last meeting, foll owing an inconclusive discussion of where 
to go on this agenda item, the Council had agreed to suspend this item from its agenda for the time 
being.  In her closing remarks she stressed that this did not mean that this item would disappear as it was 
clear that a number of Members wished to keep the item on the agenda.  However, given the inconclusive nature of the discussions on this item ov er the past five years, she considered that it did not 
serve any purpose to maintain the item simply for the sake of maintaining it.  She also said that the item 
could be raised at any time if a Member wished, for example, through the presentation of new approaches that might be agreed on how to address the issue.  She continued to believe that interested 
Members must work together to find a common ground to bring to the Council so that it could be constructive on this item.  She and the Secretariat we re ready to assist in this process if necessary.  
The item was on the agenda because Turkey had informed her that, since the last meeting, it had carried 
out bilateral consultations  with some interested Members on th e holding of a workshop on textiles and 
clothing.  Turkey wished to present a short report on its consultations.   
 3.2 The representative of Turkey
 recalled that, from the discussions at the last Council meeting, it 
appeared that a workshop on the side lines of the WTO was a way to progres s on this issue.  In line with 
this view, his delegation prepared a draft program and presented it to delegations in September.  His 
delegation also contacted delegations for consulta tions on the draft plan and were glad to have 
received considerable support from developing Members towards the programme.  He left copies of 
the programme in the room for interested delegati ons.  The workshop was planned to consist of five 
main sessions.  In the initial session, economic impacts of the phase-out would be analysed and in the 
second session, developmental aspects of the phase-ou t would be elaborated.  After gaining enough 
data to understand the ATC era correctly, the th ird session would proceed with analysing current 
global circumstances.  The fourth session would be dedicated to case studies.  In this session, Member G/C/M/100 
Page 4  
 
  countries which wished would present a national account of ATC and post-ATC experiences 
throughout the sectoral restructuring process.  The final session was planned as a round table to identify the ways and means of coping with adju stment challenges for developing countries and 
alternative policy options that could be employed  to cushion adjustment costs as well as enhance 
human capital.  
 
3.3 His delegation hoped that the proposed wo rkshop, both in terms of themes and possible 
contributions, was attractive enough for all Members.   He informed the Council that his delegation 
had consulted with all interested Members and as ked for their opinions and comments regarding the 
draft programme.  His delegation was pleased to see th at many delegations agreed with the need for 
the workshop and even offered to provide country-s pecific experiences.  In conclusion, his delegation 
was continuing its consultations with  various Members in a dedicated e ffort to achieve a program that 
would appeal to the concerns of all.  In this vein, the Chair's guidance and assistance would be highly 
appreciated in the process of consultation towards a successful and satisfying outcome. 
 
3.4 The representative of Jordan
 supported the Turkish proposal regarding conducting a 
workshop for sharing experiences among Members.  3.5 The representative of Pakistan
 said that his capital was examining the proposal but, 
nevertheless, had a few observations and concerns to  note.  The textile and clothing sector was one of 
the major sectors for the developing countries;  this  could not be denied. It also had a major gender 
concern in the rural as well as the urban sectors.  The concern at this point in time was not to  unravel 
progress already achieved by reintroducing any quotas .  Members should be constructive in this sense 
and there should be no back tracking.  These were hi s delegation's only concerns .  If they were taken 
care of, then he believed his delega tion could go with the majority. 
 
3.6 The Chairman  considered Turkey's consultation process a constructive approach to managing 
this item.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed to further suspend this item on the 
understanding reached at the last  meeting and which she repeated  in her opening statement. 
 
IV. EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ENLARGEMENT:  PROCEDURES UNDER 
ARTICLE XXVIII:3 OF GATT 1994  
4.1 The Chairman  informed Members that under this age nda item, the Council was to consider a 
request for extension of the time period for th e withdrawal of concessions for the two recent 
enlargements of the European Communities.   
 A. E
NLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON 1 MAY 2004   
4.2 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to documen t G/L/695/Add.10 which concerned the 
accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004 of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic  and Slovenia.  In this communication, the EC 
indicated that it would not assert that Members who had submitted a claim pursuant to Article XXIV:6 of GATT 1994 were precluded fro m withdrawing substantially equivalent 
concessions under Article XXVIII:3 of GATT 1994 becau se this withdrawal occurred later than six 
months after the EC's withdrawal of concessions, provided that the claiming WTO Member withdrew concessions no later than 75 months after the EC's modification of concessions.  She recalled that the 
General Council had on four earlier occasions, on the basis of similar communications from the EC, 
extended the deadline for withdrawal of concessions  referred to in Article XXVIII:3 of GATT 1994, 
namely, at its meetings in October 2004, and in March, June, and Decembe r 2005.  Similarly, the 
Council for Trade in Goods had extended the deadlin e on seven occasions, namely at its meetings of  G/C/M/100 
 Page 5 
 
 
  12 July 2006, 30 January, 21 May and 23 November 2007, 22 May and 18 November 2008, and 29 
June 2009.    4.3 The representative of the European Communities
 said that this request, circulated in  
document G/L/695/Add.10 referred to similar prev ious requests.  While negotiations had been 
finalised, the setting of the banana tariff for the EC 25 has not yet been finalised.  His delegation was  
making considerable efforts with the main MFN exporter and it believed it would soon reach a 
definite and comprehensive agreement.  Neverthel ess, it still needed an extension of the period as 
indicated in this communication.  
4.4 The representative of Colombia
 remarked that the EC was, once again, presenting the Council 
a request for an extension of the period for wh ich Members are required to withdraw concessions 
pursuant to Article XXVIII:3 of GATT 1994.  Th is was a pending issue which required solutions 
since May 2004 when the EC notified the withdrawal  of its ten Members from the list of concessions 
under Article XXVIII, and it recognised Colombia  as a substantial supplier of bananas.  
Unfortunately, a solution to receive compensator y adjustments for underm ining her delegation's 
access to those markets had still not been achieved.  Colombia, along w ith other interested parties as 
indicated by the EC, had been working seriously and productively on a solution to solve the issues 
relating to the banana dispute.  Her delegation w as seeking a balanced solution which would address  
the compensation arising from the enlargement of the EU based on good faith that would lead to a 
global solution with regard to this dispute on bananas. 
 
4.6 The Council took note  of the statements made and also of the EC communication contained in 
document G/L/695/Add.10.  It agreed  on the extension of the deadline  as set out in the EC's document 
G/L/695 Add.8.    
B. E
NLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON 1 JANUARY 2007   
4.11 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to docum ent G/L/821/Add.5 which concerned the 
accession to the European Union on 1 January 2007 of Bulgaria and Romania.  In this 
communication, the EC indicated that it would not assert that Members who had submitted a claim pursuant to Article XXIV:6 of GATT 1994 were precl uded from withdrawing subs tantially equivalent 
concessions under Article XXVIII:3 of GATT 1994 becau se this withdrawal occurred later than 
six months after the EC's withdrawal of concessions, provided that the claiming WTO Member 
withdrew concessions no later than 42 months after the EC's modification of concessions.  She recalled that the Council for Trade in Goods had ex tended the deadline on five occasions, namely at 
its meetings of 21 May and 23 November 2007, 22 May and 18 November 2008, and 29 June 2009. 
 
4.12 The representative of the European Communities
 informed the Council that the negotiations 
following the EC's enlargement on 1 January 2007 with Romania and Bulgaria were still ongoing.  
Good progress had been achieved and it had closed  negotiations with several major suppliers.  
However, it still needed to reach ag reement with some of the remaining partners and therefore needed 
time to finalise these negotiations.  Again, regarding the particular issue of bananas, a definitive, 
comprehensive solution was forthcoming which would be  factored into this enlargement as well.  His 
delegation, therefore, circulated the communication requesting an extension of the period in which 
Members were allowed to withdraw substantial e quivalent concessions and it requested that this 
extension be granted by Members.  4.13 The Council took note
 of the statement made and also of  the EC communication contained in 
document G/L/821/Add.5.  It agreed  on the extension of the dead line as set out in the European 
Commission's document G/L/821/Add.5.   G/C/M/100 
Page 6  
 
  V. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE PROTOCOL OF 
ACCESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA  
5.1 The Chairman
 recalled that in accordance with paragra ph 18 of the Protocol of the Accession 
of the People's Republic of China in document WT /L/432, this Council was to report to the General 
Council on the Transitional Review.  As a first step , CTG subsidiary bodies we re required to transmit 
their reports to the Council for Trade in Goods.  She would give Members an opportunity to make 
general comments on those reports, and would subse quently propose that the Council takes note of the 
Reviews that had been carried out in the CTG subs idiary bodies.  She would then move on to the 
CTG's own report.  The Council was required to revi ew the information to be provided by China in 
designated parts of Annex 1.A of the Protocol. 
 
5.2 She added that the following subsidiary bo dies had carried out the Transitional Review:  
Market Access – the report was contained in doc ument G/MA/241:  Agriculture - the report was 
contained in document G/AG/26;  Customs Valua tion - the report was contained in documents 
G/VAL/63;  Import Licensing - the report was contained in document G/LIC/20;  Rules of Origin - 
the report was contained in document G/RO/68;  Anti-Dumping - the report was contained in 
document G/ADP/18;  Subsidies and Countervailing Measures - the report was contained in document 
G/SCM/130;  Safeguards - the report was contained in document G/SG/88;  and TRIMs - the report 
was contained in documents G/L/899.  She asked Members if they had general comments on these 
Reviews.  She understood that the reports from th e Committees on Technical Barriers to Trade and 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures had not been  finalized as of this meeting as the SPS Committee 
was meeting this week, and TBT next week.   
 5.3 The Council took note
 of the reports from the subsidiary bodies.  The Chairs of the 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measur es and the Committee on Technical Barriers to 
Trade would submit their reports dir ectly to the General Council.   
 
5.4 The Chairman  recalled that China was required to provide information to the CTG in 
accordance with paragraph 18.1 of the Protocol of Accession.  The relevant information requirements 
were listed in Annex 1A therein.  China had s ubmitted this information as circulated in document 
G/C/W/630.  She also drew Members' attention to the following documents:  questions from the US in 
documents G/C/W/628  and questions fr om Japan in document G/C/W/626. 
 
5.5 The representative of China  did not wish to add to his delegation's submission.  He informed 
the Council that the document arrived late because th e date of the Council's meeting was advanced.    
 5.6 The representative of the United States
 noted that this was the eighth Transitional Review 
Mechanism for China.  The United States believed that  the TRM continued to be a useful mechanism.  
It helped to provide needed additional transparency  for China's trade regime so that Members could 
better understand and assess the progress that China ha d made in adopting and complying with WTO 
disciplines.  His delegation raised previously s ubmitted questions in its written submission because 
China did not respond to them in the subsidiary  body reviews.  He highlighted a few of his 
delegation's concerns.  Before the Market Acces s committee, his delegation addressed questions to 
China about its export restraints on certain raw materi als - a matter that raised serious WTO concerns.   
China continued to maintain export quotas and e xport duties among other restraints on a number of 
raw materials.  WTO rules generally prohibited e xport quotas.  The same was generally true for 
export duties that China used.  China had made a commitment in its WTO Protocol of Accession 
circumscribing its use of export duties.  It was long past time for China to get rid of its export 
restrictions on raw materials.  China should have  eliminated them when they acceded to the WTO 
nearly eight years ago. His delegation wanted to see a level playing field where competition was fair.  
However with China's export restraints, the US  and other WTO Members were significantly 
disadvantaged.  The export restraints artificially ra ised world raw material prices and lowered China's  G/C/M/100 
 Page 7 
 
 
  domestic prices.  That gave a substantial artific ial advantage to China's downstream producers over 
US and other foreign downstream producers.  5.7 Before the Market Access Committee, his delegation asked questions specifically about 
export restraints on rare earths, a group of related raw materials that were particularly important to 
industries around the world including the US industry.  His delegation also asked about refined metal 
lead.  China did not respond to these questions so his delegation was submitting them again in 
connection with this Council's TRM.  His delega tion looked forward to China's responses to these 
questions at this meeting.  
5.8 Other questions submitted for this TRM were  originally submitted in connection with the 
TRM before the Subsidies Committee.  During that  TRM, his delegation highlighted a number of 
serious concerns.  First, it noted that during the Subsidies Committee TRM, China stated that a new subsidies notification for 2005-08 would be submitte d in the coming months.  While this would be a 
positive step, China also stated th at the notification would not cont ain any sub-central governmental 
measures.  This was disturbing given that China, after nearly eight years of WTO Membership, had 
still not provided any notification addressing a si ngle sub-central governmental measure despite 
concerns expressed by Members in China's Accession  working party report about such measures, and 
the issue being raised in several previous tr ansitional reviews of the Subsidies Committee. 
 5.9 Second, during the Subsidies Committee TRM, the US raised China's obligation under Article 
18.1 and Annex 1A of China's Protocol of Accession.   These obligations dir ected China to provide 
annual economic development program s, China's five year programs  and any industrial or sectoral 
programs or policies promulgated by central and su b-central governmental authorities.  While China 
had provided some information about central gov ernmental industrial plans and policies, China 
appeared not to have provided any of the rele vant information about sub-central governmental 
authorities.  These were serious matters and his dele gation urged China to take swift action to resolve 
these matters in accordance with its WTO obligations.  5.10 Finally during the Subsidies Committee TRM, China did not provide answers to any of the 
US questions regarding sub-central governmental subsidies benefiting China's textile sector.  One 
example of an unanswered question involved a sub- central governmental subsidy program that could 
be found in the Implementation Plan for Reviving Hu nan's Textile Industry 2009-2011.  This program 
appeared to provide export subsidies inconsistent  with China's obligations under Article 3 of the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measur es.  Therefore, China's response to his 
delegation's question about this program was esp ecially important.  Before this Council, his 
delegation resubmitted the questions  to which China did not respond during the Subsidies Committee 
TRM and it hoped to receive China's responses. 
 5.11 Before concluding, he noted significant US  concerns about matters that fell within the 
jurisdiction of other committees that reported to the Council.  In the area of SPS, China continued to 
maintain a number of measures that were non-transparen t and appeared to lack sc ientific bases such as 
H1N1 restrictions, BSE-related bans, Avian Influen za bans, pathogen standards and residue standards.  
In the investment area, China continued to mainta in various restrictions on foreign investment and 
continued to subject new investments and merger s and acquisitions to vague standards such as 
national economic security.  In the customs valua tion area, China did not seem to uniformly follow 
WTO rules.  The practices of China's customs ad ministration still seemed to vary from port to port 
both in terms of customs clearance procedures and valu ation determinations and, in some cases, these 
gave rise to WTO concerns.  In the area of technica l barriers to trade, China continued to pursue the 
development of unique national standards despite the existence of well established international 
standards, apparently with the objective of pr otecting domestic companies from competing with 
foreign technologies and standards.  He concluded th at all these matters raised serious concerns for 
his Government. G/C/M/100 
Page 8  
 
   
5.12 The representative of Japan
 raised three issues before the Council's TRM, all related to 
China’s export restrictive measures.  First, Japan expressed its concern about China’s export licensing 
measures on certain materials such as fluorite, coal , coke and non-ferrous metals.  Her delegation 
understood that China’s justification for these e xport restricting measures was based on GATT Article 
XX.  In order to justify these measures by the ge neral exception under Article XX, China needed to 
convince Members with evidence that China impl emented restrictions on domestic production and 
consumption.  However, actual data regard ing domestic production and consumption on these 
products had not been provided by China.  In this context, Japan asked China:  how it justified its use 
of export licensing measures on each material under Ar ticle XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade 1994;  to provide the data on domestic  production and consumption of each material in 
which an export licensing measure was applied;  to provide some information about whether there 
was a ceiling on domestic production of each materi al in which an export licensing measure was 
applied;  to clarify the extent of difference between the volume of export restriction and the restriction on domestic production;  and if it had plans to elim inate or review the export licensing measures.    
 
5.13 Second, Japan expressed its concern about Ch ina’s export taxes on certain raw materials and 
products, including chemical fertilizers and their raw ma terials, non-ferrous metals, coal and coke.  In 
its Protocol of Accession, China committed to elim inate all taxes and charges applied to exports 
unless specifically provided for in Annex 6 of the Protocol.  However, in her delegation's 
understanding, China imposed export taxes on some items  listed in Annex 6 but at higher levels than 
indicated in the Annex, and China imposed export tax es on some items not listed in Annex 6.  In this 
connection, Japan asked China:  to explain th e purposes of China’s imposition/increase of export 
taxes on chemical fertilizers and thei r raw materials, non-ferrous metals , coal and coke, respectively;  
to explain how China justified its imposition of expo rt taxes in light of the commitments that China 
made in its Protocol of Accession;  if it had a ny plans to eliminate or review the export taxes 
measures. 
 5.14 Third, her delegation was concerned with Ch ina’s export prohibition on natural sand.  Japan 
asked China:  to explain how it justified its expor t prohibition on natural sand under Article XI of the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994;  to e xplain in detail China’s restrictive measures on 
domestic production and consumption of  natural sand;  to provide the data on the latest trend in 
domestic production and cons umption of natural sand;  if it had plans to eliminate or review the 
export prohibition on natural sand.    5.15 The representative of the European Communities
 had made submissions to a number of the 
subsidiary bodies and had taken an active part in  this eighth TRM exercise in various committees.  
Transparency was an essential element of the WTO which implied obligations to all Members.  He 
recalled that the scrutiny provided for by the TRM was approved by China as part of its Protocol of Accession.  Despite impressive progress China had made  in integrating into the world based trading 
system, the EC and several WTO Members were s till confronted with some important areas of 
concern.  The TRM mechanism was an important forum for addressing these concerns and China was 
encouraged to participate actively in it.   
 
5.16 While his delegation had seen China participat e in the meetings and, to a certain extent, 
answer questions, this had not always been to his delegation's full satisfaction.  Many of the answers 
had been partial and repetitive and,  more importantly, the replies ha d not addressed the core problems 
highlighted by the EC and other Members.  Among the written questions submitted by the EC which 
it considered had not been adequately answered we re those that dealt with the following:  local 
content requirements;  steel industry development policy;  TRIMS and compatible clauses in contractual arrangements (for example the ques tions submitted in document G/TRIMS/W/69);  
questions related to export restric tions (the EC reiterat ed its growing concern regarding China's export 
restraints on a number of key role materials);  and export quotas which we re generally prohibited  G/C/M/100 
 Page 9 
 
 
  under Article XI of the GATT.  Concerning the last area, he added that as from January 2009, China 
applied export tariffs on 373 tariff lines in what the EC viewed as a violation of its Protocol of Accession to the WTO.  Here, he referred to hi s delegation's submission to the Market Access 
Committee in document G/MA/W/97.  
5.17 Lastly, on several industrial sectors such as steel, ship building, petrol chemical, 
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, there were long st anding issues raised on several occasions.  His 
delegation's concerns related to issues such as intelle ctual property which had also been raised in the 
framework of the Council for Trad e-Related Aspects of Intellectua l Property Rights, pricing and 
registrations procedures, joint venture limitation s ubsidies, local content requirements and technical 
barriers. 
 
5.18 The representative of China
 noted that the concerns expressed in the statements were not new.  
They repeated issues which had been under debate during all eight transitional reviews both in this 
Council and also in the subsidiary bodies.  China had engaged in this tran sitional review exercise 
seriously.  It had provided numerous detailed responses and clarifications with regard to the concerns 
expressed by Members.  These could be found in the minutes of the meetings.  He considered that 
Members took the floor during this Council because th ey were not satisfied with the responses China 
provided.  This did not mean that China had not provid ed responses in this regard.  With respect to the 
written questions from Japan and the United States, he provided the following points in addition to what his delegation had explained in previous review s.  This was without prejudice to his delegation's 
position in ongoing disputes in this regard with some Members in the DSB.    
5.19 China maintained export administrative measures on a small number of products for the 
purpose of protecting public interest, conservi ng exhaustible natural resources or undertaking 
obligations under international treaties.  These expor t administrative measures were not new and their 
WTO-related justifications were also provided.  As the largest developing country, China was now 
facing tremendous pressure in natural resource conser vation and protection of the environment.  On 
this particular point, his delega tion had provided many explanatio ns.  The Chinese Government had 
made enormous efforts in this respect.  It now took resource efficiency and environmental protection 
as two fundamental national policies in order to es tablish an energy efficient and environmentally 
friendly society and realise long term sustainable development.  In the past several years, China had already made great achievements,  for example, in comparison with 2005.  The total energy 
consumption per unit of GDP in 2008 was decreased by  more that 10%.  China had also adopted and 
was implementing its national plan for coping with climate change.  If this plan was successfully 
implemented, 620 million tonnes of coal would be  conserved from 2005-2010.   This equalled cutting 
carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 billion tonnes.  5.20 The export administration of a small number of  products was part of the great efforts of the 
Chinese Government and these measures were not isol ated to specifically or intentionally target 
exports.  All these measures were accompanied with  restrictive measures on domestic production and 
consumption.  Examples in this regard had been pr ovided in all previous meetings.  Today, he added 
more information.  Members could find the cap s on the domestic production of these products on the 
website of the Chinese Ministry of Land and Res ources.  For example, in 2009, the production of 
antimony was capped at 90,180 tons, and that of rare earth at 82,320 tons. 
 
5.21 With respect to the written questions from the US delegation on subsidies to the textile sector, 
he had no intention of reopening the work already done in that Committee.  He responded briefly to 
the US claim that his delegation did not respond to  these questions in that Committee.  China had 
provided detailed explanation on the industrial polici es in its five year plan, and also recent adjusting 
and reinvigorating plans which were in response to  the challenges of the financial and economical 
crisis.  These plans were all general policy st atements and his delegation had stressed in the G/C/M/100 
Page 10  
 
  Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures that general policy statement should not be 
mistaken as subsidy programs.  His delegation believe d, that to confirm the existence of a subsidy 
program, there should be very specific administrative measures specifying at least what the financial contribution was and how it would be utilised.  In th at Committee, his delegation noted that, as far as 
the cities of Wuxi and Hangzhou and Hunan and Ji angsu Provinces were concerned, they were all 
found in relevant local plans drafted to state gene ral policy guidelines in response to the financial and 
economic crisis.  His delegation had no confirmed information on the existenc e of concrete measures 
specifying the amount or size of the financial cont ribution provided, as well as how it is utilised to 
support the textile sector.  
5.22 The Chairman
 proposed that the Council take note of the information provided by China in its 
submission and in its responses to the questions ra ised by Members.  Regarding the form of the 
Council's report of the Review, she proposed proceedi ng in the same manner as last year.  This would 
mean that a brief factual report would be prepared with references to the documents, and attached to 
the report, the portion of the minutes of this meeti ng which related to the Tr ansitional Review.  This 
report, as well as the reports of the subsidiary bo dies, would then be transmitted to the General 
Council.    5.23 The Council so agreed
. 
 
VI. CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS 
6.1 The Chairman  recalled that, pursuant to the "Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO 
Activities and for Reporting Under the WTO," (WT/ L/105) which were adopted by the General 
Council on 15 November 1995, all bodies constituted under agreements  in Annex 1A of the WTO 
Agreement were required to submit annually a fact ual report to the Council for Trade in Goods, and 
the Council was to take note of these reports.   
 6.2 In the absence of comments, she proposed that Council take note of the reports of the 
following Committees:  (i) Committee on Market A ccess, document G/L/896;  (ii) Committee of 
Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Inform ation Technology Products, document G/L/904;  (iii) 
Committee on Agriculture, document G/L/894;  (iv) Committee on Customs Valuation, document 
G/L/907;  (v) Committee on Sanitary and Ph ytosanitary Measures, document G/L/897;  
(vi) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade,  document G/L/895;  (vii) Committee on Import 
Licensing, document G/L/903;  (viii) Committee on Rules of Origin, document G/L/905;  (ix) Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices, document G/L/902;  (x) Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, document G/L/906;  (xi)  Committee on Safeguards, document G/L/901;  
(xii) Committee on Trade-Related Investment Meas ures, document G/L/900;  (xiii) Working Party on 
State Trading Enterprises, document G/L/898;  and (xiv) the Independent Entity, document G/L/908. 
 6.3 The Council so agreed
. 
 
VII. ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL  
7.1. The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the draft report of this Council circulated in 
document G/C/W/627.  In accordance with the "Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO 
Activities and for Reporting Under the WTO," (WT/ L/105) which were adopted by the General 
Council on 15 November 1995, it was agreed that "T he respective sectoral Councils should report in 
November each year to the General Council on the activities in the Council as well as in the 
subsidiary bodies" and that the reports of the sectoral Councils should be "factual in nature, 
containing an indication of actions and decisions taken, with cross re ferences to reports of subordinate  G/C/M/100 
 Page 11 
 
 
  bodies and could follow the model of the GAT T 1947 Council reports to the CONTRACTING 
PARTIES".  The draft report would be upda ted in light of today's meeting.   
 7.2 The Council adopted
 its annual report, subject to the updating and revision which would be 
required to take account of the Council's work at today's meeting. 
 
VIII.  OTHER BUSINESS 
A. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING  
8.1 The Chairman  informed Members that the next meeti ng of the Council was scheduled to take 
place on Tuesday, 16 March 2009.  The agenda for that meeting would close on Friday, 
5 March 2009.   
 8.2 The meeting was adjourned
. 
  
 
__________